Since 1968, Population Connection (formerly Zero Population Growth or ZPG) has been America’s voice for population stabilization. It is the largest grassroots population organization in the United States.

On Sunday, Dec. 13, Hannah Evans, Population Connection communications manager, will speak on “Population and Climate Change: What are the Links?” at the Unitarian Church’s 10:30 a.m. virtual service.

Evans will explore the connections between population dynamics, access to comprehensive health care, and climate change. Through an historical examination of global population dynamics, she will clarify the links between poverty, marginalization, women’s rights, and environmental pressures made worse by climate change. Population Connection argues that expanding access to family planning and reproductive health care services is critical to women’s empowerment and can play an impactful role in climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Evans works with college-level students and professors to integrate population studies back into the mainstream, with a particular focus on human rights and social justice. Before joining Population Connection’s staff, she was an adjunct professor of Women’s Studies and taught classes on gender, science, and feminist theory. She was a program developer for sustainable agriculture and public health programs in Honduras and Panama and has worked as a researcher on food security issues throughout southern California. Evans holds a BA in environmental policy and political science and a Master’s in political ecology from San Diego State University.

The mission of Population Connection has always been to stabilize the size of the population at a level that will ensure the planet can support people and wildlife for many generations to come. ZPG changed its name to Population Connection in 2002, after the landmark International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994 put population issues into a perspective more focused on justice, human rights, and voluntarism. To learn more, visit PopulationConnection.org

Because of COVID-19 limitations, all UUCJ Sunday services are currently virtual instead of at its 1255 Prendergast Avenue location. Anyone is welcome to participate by emailing UUJamestown@gmail.com to receive a Zoom link for the 10:30 a.m. service. The link goes out on Saturday afternoon, but you can request to join until the start of the service on Sunday.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown is a progressive, liberal religious community serving the southern tier of Western New York and Warren County, Pa. For more information, visit jamestownuu.org or facebook.com/jamestownuu.